Steps:
• Choose menu item "Config" -> "Administrator".
• Type "admin" in the name field of "Administrator".
• Type a non-empty password and confirm it.
• Click the "Update" button.
Notes:
• BC4E protects sensitive data to prevent unauthorized changes. This protection is disabled for new installations to facilitate testing.
• To enable data protection, set a non-empty password for the default Administrator account "admin" as described above.
• Sensitive data includes Skill Levels, Club Fees, User Types, and BC4E Options.
BC4E has a default Administrator account "admin". To add another Administrator account, you must first authenticate as an Administrator.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Config" -> "Administrator".
• Authenticate with your Administrator account and password.
• Type a new account name, password, and confirm the password.
• Click the "Add" button.
Notes:
• Before adding a new Administrator account, set a non-empty password for the predefined Administrator "admin".
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Admin" -> "Export Data".
• In the prompted dialog window, select "User" in the "Data to Export" group box.
• Choose the file location by clicking the "Browse" button.
• Type the file name and click the "Export" button.
Notes:
• You may need to export Club User data to a formatted (.CSV) file in the following scenarios:
• You want to make batch changes to many Club Users.
• You want to migrate Club Users to another BC4E installation.
• You want to exchange Club User information with other systems.
• For batch changes, use Excel to open the exported file, make changes, and save it as a .CSV file. Then, import it back into BC4E.
• For migration, ensure the target BC4E installation has the same User Types configured, then import the exported file directly.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Admin" -> "Export Data".
• In the prompted dialog window, select "User" in the "Data to Export" group box.
• Choose the file location by clicking the "Browse" button.
• Type the file name and click the "Export" button.
Notes:
• You may need to export Club User data to a formatted (.CSV) file in the following scenarios:
• You want to make batch changes to many Club Users.
• You want to migrate Club Users to another BC4E installation.
• You want to exchange Club User information with other systems.
• For batch changes, use Excel to open the exported file, make changes, and save it as a .CSV file. Then, import it back into BC4E.
• For migration, ensure the target BC4E installation has the same User Types configured, then import the exported file directly as described below.
• In BC4E, you can export other information to formatted text (.CSV) files, such as Matches, Players, or Player Visit Statistics. These require specifying a date period.
• Historical data for Matches and Players is stored in the ".\Data\Archive" subfolder. BC4E uses Windows files for simplicity, with separate files for Matches and Players each day.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Admin" -> "Import Users".
• In the prompted window, click the "Browse" button to select the text file to import.
• Click the "Import" button.
Notes:
• The formatted text (.CSV) file containing Club User information must match the format shown in the sample file "C:\BC4E\BC4E_Users_import_sample.csv".
• The exported Club User file has the same format and can be used for importing.
• In the sample file format, all date columns are optional. They can either be omitted or left empty. Use the universal date-time format "yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss" for any date values.
• Before importing, ensure the User Types in the text file are configured in the current BC4E system.
• By default, the import process will add new Club Users and update details for existing users (identified by User Name). You can choose different options to control this behavior.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Admin" -> "Export Data".
• In the prompted dialog window, select "Player" in the "Data to Export" group box.
• Click the "Browse" button and choose the location to save the file.
• Type the file name and click the "Export" button.
Notes:
• If you want to run a simulation with the same group of Players for testing, you can export these Players and later sign them in by importing.
• This can also help if you need to roll back changes to BC4E software mid-club, especially if copying data files doesn't work due to format differences.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Admin" -> "Import Players".
• Select the text file to import by clicking the "Browse" button.
• Click the "Import" button.
Notes:
• The exported Players text file contains a simple list of Player names, with one name per line.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Simulate" -> "Reset Matches".
Notes:
• Before starting a new simulation, especially when simulating repeatedly for different periods within the same day, perform this operation first to clear any hidden matches from previous simulations.
• Simulation differs from Club Run, which typically has one period per day. For Club Run, the system keeps matches for the same day in the same data file.
• Use this feature to clean up unwanted matches, preventing match history from affecting new match arrangements in terms of equal match count or variety.
• In rare cases, this can help resolve persistent match arrangement errors caused by conflicting rules.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Simulate" -> "Reset Matches & Players" from the main window.
Notes:
• Use this to initiate a new "Simulation" or "Club Run" within the same day.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Simulate" -> "Simulate One Run".
Notes:
• Prerequisite: An active schedule for today and signed-in Players.
• Simulates match arrangements for Club Run once. The difference between "Arrange New" and "Simulate Once" is that the former is relative to the current time, while the latter is relative to future time.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Simulate" -> "Simulate for Today".
Notes:
• Simulates the entire Club Run for the scheduled period today.
• The simulation takes only a few seconds, so the main window will likely display only the final matches when it finishes.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Admin" -> "Lock Signing In".
Notes:
• One design goal is to make the system fully automatic (Auto Mode) without requiring a board duty person. "Locking Signing In" prevents users who need to pay per visit from signing in without paying.
Steps:
• Specify the ratio of Player capacity limit to total court capacity in the "Player Count Limit" parameter by choosing menu item "Config" -> "Options".
• Specify which User Types are restricted by this limit in the "Is Limited" column of the User Types configuration window.
Notes:
• Clubs may use this feature to automatically limit the number of signed-in Players, ensuring everyone can play a decent number of matches.
• This is a one-time setting.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Config" -> "Options".
• Set the following options to "Yes":
• "Encourage Same Gender" (default: "Yes").
• "Encourage Mixed Doubles" (default: "Yes").
• "Enforce Gender Option" (default: "No").
Notes:
• BC4E prioritizes Skill Level Balance over Gender Balance when arranging matches.
Steps:
• Choose menu item "Config" -> "Options".
• Set the "Match Adjustability (Minute)" option to "0".
Notes:
• Use this to prevent Players from adjusting matches arranged by BC4E, ensuring fairness for everyone.
• Players who want to request a match favor can use the Pair Player feature instead.
Steps:
• Ensure your laptop has an Internet connection.
• Choose "Help" -> "Renew License" from the menu.
• If prompted, make the payment for the renewal and wait for the order to be authorized (this may take a few days).
• Ensure your laptop has an Internet connection again.
• Choose "Help" -> "Renew License" again. The renewal should now be successful.
Notes:
• The "Renew License" option is only enabled when the current license is close to or past its expiry date.
• The first renewal request creates an order for a new license. You will be prompted to pay for the renewal and receive an order number.
Steps:
• Ensure your laptop has an Internet connection.
• Choose "Config" -> "Internet" from the menu.
Notes:
• If BC4E cannot connect to the BC4E website, the Internet feature will be automatically disabled after a few failed attempts.
• A successful Internet feature activation is indicated by a barcode image appearing in the main window.
• The barcode image is used for scanning in with mobile apps.
Steps:
• Choose "Config" -> "Options" from the menu.
• For a fixed duration, specify a positive number of minutes for the "WarmUp Period (Minute/Others)" option.
Or:
• For a flexible duration of up to 30 minutes, specify "-1" for the "WarmUp Period (Minute/Others)" option.
Notes:
• The default value of "0" means the Warm-Up duration is the same as the Match Duration, which is specified in another option.
Steps:
• Choose "Config" -> "Options" from the menu.
• Set the "Policy of Two Divisions" option to either "Compete" or "Separate".
Notes:
• The default value of "Mix Up" treats both divisions as a single pool of players.
Steps:
• Choose "Config" -> "User Type" from the menu.
• Specify the "Days To Play" column values for each User Type, indicating the preferred days of the week for playing.
Notes:
• If the Club Fee varies by User Type, configure the Club Fee accordingly.
• By default, all User Types can play on any day of the week.
• When "Days To Play" values differ from the default, the main window will display radio buttons to show Club Users for "Today" or "Others".
Steps:
• Choose "Config" -> "Internet" from the menu.
• In the prompted window, check "Connect to Internet for remote operation".
• Check the "Data Synchronization Group" checkbox.
• Enter the group name for data synchronization and specify a protection password.
• If the group does not exist, select "Create". Otherwise, select "Join".
• Submit your request for data synchronization.
Notes:
• Data synchronization applies to Club Users, signed-in Players, and arranged Matches. Remote sign-in via mobile apps is under development.
• User Types must be manually configured to match across all laptops in the synchronization group.
• The same person must use the same User Name across all BC4E systems in the synchronization group.
Steps:
• Set up multiple Club Periods on the same day using "Config" -> "Schedules" as follows:
• Each Club Period can have multiple neighboring schedules.
• There must be a gap between two consecutive Club Periods.
• The gap between Club Periods can be a small time gap of at least one minute or a Warm-Up session at the start of each Club Period.
Notes:
• BC4E automatically archives the data of the previous Club Period before starting a new one.
• BC4E stores Player and Match data separately for each Club Period, unlike earlier versions where one set of files was used per day.
• BC4E can export or report on Player and Match data for each Club Period. You must specify the Club Run Date and Club Period Ordinal for such operations.
Steps:
• Download the latest software package from the BC4E website.
• Unzip the package into a temporary folder.
• Run the "setup.exe" executable in the temporary folder.
• If your installation uses default settings, no changes are needed. Otherwise, browse to the installation folder.
• Click the "Upgrade Existing" button.
Notes:
• The upgrade process creates a copy of the current installation folder with a date-time suffix. This may take time if the club has a lot of archived data.
• Newer core files for the BC4E application are copied and replace older files in the current installation folder.
• File replacement is based on the file date and time stamp. Even if the version number is the same, newer files will replace older ones.
• Minor revisions may not change the version number, but the upgrade process will still work.
Steps:
• Find the correct backup folder to roll back to.
• If the installation folder is "C:\BC4E", backup folders follow the naming pattern "C:\BC4E_yyyyMMdd_HHmmss".
• Sort the folder names by modification date and select the backup folder to roll back to.
• Rename the current installation folder "C:\BC4E" to something like "C:\BC4E_rolled_back" to avoid conflicts.
• Rename the backup folder to "C:\BC4E" by removing the suffix.
• If the original folder contains a new license key, copy the "BC4E_Certificate.key" file to the restored folder.
• If the rollback occurs mid-club, restore signed-in Players and arranged Matches by copying the following files to the ".\Data" subfolder of the restored folder:
• .\Data\players.tbl
• .\Data\matches.tbl
Notes:
• This method of restoring Players and Matches should work in most cases unless the file formats differ between versions, which is rare.
Steps:
• Delete the BC4E installation folder (default: "C:\BC4E").
• Delete the desktop shortcut.
Notes:
• BC4E stores all information within its installation folder. The only external item created is the desktop shortcut.
• To back up BC4E, simply back up the entire installation folder. During initial setup, the installation path, PC machine ID, and Club User data file are bound to the license.
• Changing the installation path, copying to a different PC, or manually handling the Club User data file may cause BC4E to malfunction.
• In addition to restoring the installation folder, you can use the Export/Import Club Users feature or the Internet Data Synchronization Group to migrate or restore Club Users.
When migrating BC4E to a different PC, follow these steps (ensure BC4E is not running during file or folder copying):
• a. Perform a fresh installation on the new PC with the same Levels option as the old PC. A three-month free trial period begins upon successful online registration.
• b. Back up the entire installation folder (default: "C:\BC4E") on the new PC before making any changes.
• c. On the old PC, export Club User data to a .CSV file. This file will be used to import Club User data on the new PC.
Important! Do not copy the Club User data file directly, as it will crash the new installation.
• d. Copy the following files from the "C:\BC4E\Data" folder on the old PC to the same folder on the new PC, overwriting existing files:
• administrators.tbl
• club_fees.tbl
• courts.tbl
• schedules.tbl
• user_type.tbl
Important! Do not copy or overwrite any other files in "C:\BC4E\Data" on the new PC, as this may crash the installation.
• e. Copy the exported .CSV file from Step c to the new PC.
• f. Start BC4E on the new PC and import Club Users from the copied .CSV file.
• g. BC4E on the new PC should now be ready for use.
• h. If the old PC will no longer be used and the license is valid for a long period (well over three months), you can request Support to transfer the license to the new PC for an NZ$20 administration fee.
BC4E supports three modes: Auto Mode, Sync Mode, and Async Mode. You can switch between them in this sequence:
Auto -> Sync -> Async -> (back to Auto).
• a. Auto Mode is the default and most commonly used mode. Matches are created, started, and stopped automatically based on the schedule and timing settings.
• b. Sync Mode allows manual control over match creation, starting, and stopping. The operator clicks buttons to perform these actions.
• c. Async Mode is similar to Sync Mode but uses separate timers for each court. Starting or stopping games on each court requires manual control.
BC4E version 3.7.9 introduces support for scheduling a club middle break, ideal for clubs with long durations and fewer players.
Configure a break schedule in the middle of the club period where no court applications are allowed. For example, in a 3-hour club period:
• a. Club Start Schedule: 7:00 pm ~ 8:30 pm, includes a "Warm-Up" period and court allocations.
• b. Middle Break Schedule: 8:30 pm ~ 8:35 pm, no "Warm-Up" period and no court allocations.
• c. Club End Schedule: 8:35 pm ~ 10:00 pm, no "Warm-Up" period but includes court allocations.
• Note: BC4E 3.7.9 supports multiple break schedules and can automatically adjust breaks to align with match sessions.
• For clubs folloing regular schedules, the break start time can be set precisely by auto-calculating the previous schedule's end time, which becomes the break start time.
• To calculate a schedule's "End Time," right-click its "End Time" field, choose "Calculate End Time," specify the match sessions, and click "OK" to confirm.
BC4E version 3.7.9 introduces support for color-coding courts, which is particularly useful for sites where courts are differentiated by colors.
To configure this, navigate to the menu item "Config -> Config Courts":
Select "Display Color" for each court by clicking the field and choosing a color from the color selection window.
Click "Submit" to save your changes.
• Note: Please keep the "Court Name" as the default value, as the display is based on the pattern "Court XX".
BC4E version 3.7.9 supports User Types with a total count of club visits. The system automatically deducts 1 visit when a Club User of that type signs in and plays at least one match.
a. Navigate to the menu item "Config -> Config User Types":
b. Set the "Session#" value for the specific User Type.
c. Click "Submit" to save your changes.
d. Edit the profile for the Club User (refer to previous instructions on how to do this).
e. Select the "User Type" that has total session count control for the Club User.
f. To top up the total number of club visits, click "Start Date" in "Club User Effective Period" and specify the "Start Date" for the top-up.
g. The "Session#" for the user in the User Profile window will be populated with the value set in Step b. The "End Date" in "Club User Effective Period" will also be updated.
h. The "End Date" in "Club User Effective Period" for the user's top-up will be set to one year later.
• Note: The user's sessions must be used before the "End Date" specified above. Any remaining balance after that date will be wiped out.